Before we begin, a bit of a
flash-forward. Since returning from the IFP conference I've continued
to take advantage of learning opportunities back in Rochester. I've
been taking some classes in how to make movies with a DSLR, how to
use the animation program After Effects, how to format a book for
self-publishing, and how to write a novel in 30 days. (The latter is
just in time for National Novel Writing Month.)
But a couple weekends ago I reached a
point where I thought – you know what? Learning and absorbing and
recharging is all well and good, but there comes a point where you
gotta start producing. I've drank enough and it's time to pee. (Maybe
not the most tasteful metaphor, but oh well.)
There must be something in the air
(hopefully not the smell of pee), because yesterday IndieWire posted this article describing filmmaker Ava DuVernay's keynote speech at the Film
Independent Forum voicing similar thoughts:
“You're in info-gathering mode. You
come to these gatherings and think, "Am I interested in this?
Can I do this? What is this about? What is this whole independent
film thing? How do I get it done?" ... I rarely meet people who
tell me what they're [actually] doing. I often meet people who ask,
"Can you help me?" or "How do I do this?" ... All
of the time you're spending trying to get someone to mentor you,
trying to have a coffee, all of the things we try to do to move ahead
in the industry is time that you're not spending time working on your
screenplay ... All the time you're focusing on trying to grab, you're
being desperate and you're not doing. You have to be doing
something.”
So soon enough, I'm going to be doing
something. I'm going to have DVDs of Saberfrog for sale at the
Buffalo Film Expo this coming Sunday. I'm going to see if National
Novel Writing Month can be an opportunity to make progress on my
spin-off novels. And I'm in the early stages of getting some of my
old films remastered. So I need to finish this series of blog posts
that I started last month, so I can have next month clear for other
projects.
So anyway, stuff I learned on Day 4 …
#5. It's now legal to raise money in
the way that people have been doing anyway.
On September 23, it became legal for
producers to publicly solicit investments for films. Presumably this
is in response to crowdfunding, through which people have been, you
know, publicly soliciting investments.
#4. Crowdfunding money counts as
income, NOT as donations.
During a soft-money panel, panelist
Cameron Keng raised various legal issues regarding crowdfunding that
he had previously outlined in a Forbes article called “Could Kickstarter's Policies Trigger An IRS Tax Audit?” This article is well worth bookmarking, but Keng's strongest
statement during the panel was that the money you raise by
crowdfunding is income, not donations. You will pay tax on it, and if
you make a mistake then you will get an IRS audit. If the person
giving money is getting something in return, such as a DVD or a
T-shirt, then it's not a donation. Even getting credit in a film can
be argued as getting value.
Also, fellow panelist Dianne Debicella
of Fractured Atlas, pointed out that a fiscal sponsor can hold the
money for you for the next year so that you don't pay tax on it in
the current year. The panelists plugged their blog, Filmonomics, where more info about the economic issues of filmmaking is
available.
#3. Information about digital
projection formats is actually available.
Panelist Graef Allen from Dolby
Laboratories gave a panel on how DCP (the modern digital format that
has replaced 35mm for theatrical exhibition of films) actually works.
She said the slides from her presentation were available at Sundance's Artist Services website. I went there and couldn't find them (let me know if you can) but fortunately
http://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/blog/2013/01/the-independents-guide-to-film-exhibition-and-delivery-2013/
has much of the same information.
DCP is a collection of digital files,
which are shipped to theaters on a physical hard drive. A composition
playlist (CPL), which is basically an XML text file, determines what
combination of video, audio and subtitles to play. The drive
containing a DCP can hold 4 or 5 different dubbed/subtitled versions
of a movie, and the theater will play whichever version they booked.
The video (JPEG 2000 codec, aspect
ratio 1.85 or 2.39) and the audio (WAV files, uncompressed, sample
rate 48kHz, 24-bit depth, 5.1 audio) are separate files, with a
container file in .mxf format. If you want subtitles, those are
written in a separate format called CineCanvas XML.
To prevent piracy, DCPs need an
encryption file called a KDM in order to play. The DCP is shipped to
the theater by a courier (such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL) on a CRU
Dataport HDD drive, and the KDM is sent by email.
Converting your video to DCP can be
challenging due to a variety of technical issues. If your source
video has an HD aspect ratio, or isn't 24 frames a second, or if the
audio isn't properly calibrated for cinemas (too loud or quiet),
conversion will be difficult. Also, watching the movie from beginning
to end on its drive is essential for testing.
If I understood the presentation
correctly, a common workflow for transferring a finished movie to DCP
is going from your original format (which may be tape or QuickTime)
to DSM (digital source master) to DCDM (digital cinema distribution
master, where individual frames are separate uncompressed TIFF files
in XYZ format) to JPEG 2000.
If you're lost by now, it might not
help to add that the color space is DCI P3, mapped to XYZ. But we're
all going to have to learn this stuff, since 100% of theaters are
supposed to be digital-only by 2015.
#2. Artwork is important for
publicity.
A panel on publicity artwork ran home
the point that indie films often neglect to generate art materials,
or at least decent ones. (Guilty.) You need to look at the two or
three days when your actors are in costume and makeup on the
principal set, and set aside half a day with a good photographer to
get group shots and individual character shots. You should get shots
from the front, the side, and a three-quarter view.
In addition to simply having the
necessary materials, you should make sure they send the right message
for the film. If it's a comedy, the artwork should be funny. You need
to think about the logo, font, photographic style, and overall feel.
Figure out what audience you're aiming at, and what would appeal to
them visually.
#1. Again, know your audience.
A couple panels that I missed most of
due to a schedule conflict had a couple good nuggets that stuck with
me. David Larkin, CEO of the indie film portal GoWatchIt.com, pointed
out that the much-criticized gatekeepers in the film industry are
less powerful now, but the downside is that without their help you
have to find new ways of finding your audience. He said “don't make
the film for an audience, but know who the audience is.” One of the
producers of the music documentary Sound City
said that you need to consider what is unique about your film, and
what are the assets that will bring it attention.
By this point in the week my brain was
getting full, but I still had one more day of learning ahead of me.
(Or half a day, since I had a train to catch)
To be continued ...
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